New Red Rocks Guidebook

[billcoe]

Link to redrocksguidebook.com

[layton]

way way way better than Roxanna's piece of stolen shit

[111]

damn, I just bought the big one in April. oh well.

[Sherri]

My copy just arrived today...unwrapping it this very minute!

[chirp]

way way way better than Roxanna's piece of stolen shit

Ouch, that stings. What did Rox do to warrant your ire? I dont live there anymore but just curious whats up with her (and jareds) guide?

[gt5816v]

Just ordered it. Thanks Bill

[Argus]

way way way better than Roxanna's piece of stolen shit

Ouch, that stings. What did Rox do to warrant your ire? I dont live there anymore but just curious whats up with her (and jareds) guide?

 

The general consensus is there is a lot of wrong information in the book. Routes are mislabeled, approach directions are off, and pitch lengths/topos are screwed up. It seems that not a lot of research was put into the book and it was just kind of slapped together. I guess people expect more when they're shelling out $35 for a guidebook. As for Layton's stolen comment, I'd like to hear more.

[G-spotter]

I heard a lot of people were mad at the Brock/McMillan guidebook because she downrated a lot of Swain's overinflated ratings?

[billcoe]

I think this was sold by weight, not by volume

(It's a lil brick which seems especially heavy for it's relatively small size.)

 

Love the pictures, but the damn thing has small print, which means I either go hiking with my reading glasses or blow up the routes I plan on doing on a copier before hand.

 

Maybe they should have used larger text for us geriatrics on all the easy routes.

[Sherri]

I think this was sold by weight, not by volume

 

Love the pictures, but the damn thing has small print, which means I either go hiking with my reading glasses or blow up the routes I plan on doing on a copier before hand.

 

Maybe they should have used larger text for us geriatrics on all the easy routes.

 

It's not just you, Bill. Even WITH my reading glasses, I could barely see the thing. Thought I was going blind at an early age.

 

But the pictures sure are pretty.

[JosephH]

Not particularly into guides, but I have to take my reading glasses anyway or I can't place pro...

[billcoe]

I heard you and Larry DeAngelo had a new FA listed in the new one, guess I'd better check it out!

 

If this was the 9 pitch thing with the descent that trashed your knees - Congrats

[matt_m]

Just got my copy in the mail. Very well done with lots of newer / undocumented stuff that looks great. Makes me want to check Nov flights to LV now. Highly recommended.

[Sherri]

Not that I've done a climb-by-climb comparison, but it seems to provide fewer topos than the others. Lots of eye candy(the photos really do make you want to book that LV flight!), but that wouldn't be helpful if you wanted something to photocopy and stuff in your pocket to reference during a multipitch climb. They include extra-large topos for the classics, though, so maybe it was a trade-off.

 

Example: Epinephrine topo

 

 

Geronimo "topo"

 

 

[powderhound]

way way way better than Roxanna's piece of stolen shit

 

that guide has been sweet so far, the section informing of where the sun is and at what time, really helps with keeping a good temp.

 

On another note: I have a buddy that has published two guides in WY, and one of the #1 rules is that someone and maybe a bunch of peps will get pissed and underestimate the time and resources expended getting a book put together.

[jhamaker]

Total eye candy. Some thought seems to have been given to the effect of shadows on the faces for the pictures. A R, X rating would be nice.

My only beef - no info on where the bolted convenience anchors are - a serious need to know if you are loosing daylight and are thinking of topping out, or rapping down. Ginger Cracks, for example, has convenience anchors for the first 5? of the 7? pitches.

 

I seem to have taken to making color photocopies of the rts I think I'll do in the new book, but aways carry Urioste w/ me for add'l info and for when I change my mind on the route I want to climb.

[billcoe]

It's pretty damn current too: it has Joseph and Larry's new route (just done Mar 07?), and a bunch of new Karsten routes too.

[Sherri]

My copy is already dog-eared and stuffed with notes. Love it.

 

Apparently, there's a bit of confusion at Children's Crag(Willow Springs) about the route "22 Minutes Til Closing" (5.6). In Jerry's book it is shown as being to the right of Tarzans's Arm. Mountain Project site show it as the route on the left of T.A.

 

Mountain Project calls the route on the right "Mitten's Revenge"(5.8) and gives beta that pefectly describes the climb.

 

Mountain Project: Mitten's Revenge, 5.8

 

The beta in Jerry's book does not necessarily match up or prepare you for the 20 ft of pure friction at the top.

 

Fun climb, no matter what you call it.

[AvlNC]

wanted to weigh in on brock's book. terrible. she cross references you into a circle...climb begins 20' R of last climb so you go to the previous climb and it says 20' L of the climb you just tried to find. vague descriptions, terrible picture topos, passages verbatim out of swain's, and i am not sure about the downgrading of swain, (for eg, he has dark shadows ptiches at 7- and she has them at 8s just for one e.g. on a classic lots of people know).

...just seems like something slapped together to make a quick buck. new guide is nice for actually finding the route and has good route info, which i thought was a major goal of a guidebook

and the new guide is by a local if i heard right (i know brock is local too).

[northvanclimber]

she cross references you into a circle...climb begins 20' R of last climb so you go to the previous climb and it says 20' L of the climb you just tried to find

 

Totally true... i was just down there last week and found this to be particularly frustrating. i understand that it's hard to put together a guidebook, but stuff like that can drive you batty, especially if the one landmark climb described in the book has a really wishy-washy description. (ie: "climb starts near boulder" (but there are 50 boulders around!!!). the newer book at least had better pics of the crags so it was much easier to orient yourself.

[texplorer]

The new Handren guide has nice color pics and the topos I have found to be pretty spot on. Red rocks is a hard place to write a guide for because it is so vast and such different kinds of climbing. He uses alot of pics to show where routes go and has many new routes that Roxanna missed.

Roxanna's guide was really pretty much a copy of the swain guide with a few updates for new routes. I think she probably started the project and then realized how much work it was going to be. I am sure at some point she had to start slapping stuff together and of course mistakes happened. Unfortunately for her she will be remembered as the person that wrote the crappy guidebook and not for wonderful climbing accomplishments.

Jerry started on his guide years before Roxanna and finished years afterwards. As you will see his product was definately a labor or love.